General

General (United Kingdom)

General is currently the highest peace-time rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It is subordinate to the Army rank of Field Marshal, has a NATO-code of OF-9, and is a four-star rank....

 Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington PC, PC (Ire)

Privy Council of Ireland

The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...

 (17 March 1753 – 5 September 1829), styled Viscount Petersham until 1779, was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 soldier. Stanhope is sometimes confused with an exact contemporary of his, the 3rd Earl Stanhope

Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope

Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope aka Charles Mahon, 3rd Earl Stanhope FRS was a British statesman and scientist. He was the father of the great traveller and Arabist Lady Hester Stanhope and brother-in-law of William Pitt the Younger. He is sometimes confused with an exact contemporary of his,...

.
He was born the son of William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington

William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington

General William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington was a British politician and soldier.The son of William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington, he took up a military career and joined the Foot Guards in 1741, and was also returned for Aylesbury...

 and Lady Caroline Fitzroy. His maternal grandparents were Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton

Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton

Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton KG PC was an Irish and English politician.He was born the only child of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton and Isabella Bennet, 2nd Countess of Arlington...

 and Lady Henrietta Somerset. Henrietta was daughter of Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester

Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester

Charles Somerset, Marquess of Worcester was the eldest son of a peer in the peerage of England and an MP.-Private Life:...

 and Rebecca Child.

Educated at Eton College

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

, Stanhope was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards

Coldstream Guards

Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....

 in 1769.